121 research outputs found
The Epidemiology of Hypoparathyroidism in Italy: An 8-Year Register-Based Study
Hypoparathyroidism is a rare endocrine disorder,
but few studies have focused on the epidemiology and
hospital management of the disease and none has been
performed in Italy. We investigated the prevalence of dif-
ferent forms of hypoparathyroidism among hospitalized
patients in Italy during an 8-year period. This study is
designed as a retrospective register-based study. We
retrieved data from the ââRecord of Hospital Dischargeââ
(SDO) of the Italian Health Ministry, from the year 2006 to
2013
and
analyzed
the
codes
corresponding
to
hypoparathyroidism-related
diagnoses.
The
inpatient
prevalence of the disease was also calculated after
excluding repeated hospitalizations. Overall, 27,692 hos-
pitalization episodes for hypoparathyroidism were identi-
fied during the entire period (72.2% in women and 27.8%
in men; mean age 49.5
±
22.9 years). The mean length of
stay was 7.4
±
9.8 days (25.9% of the episodes requiring
less than 3 days of stay). The mean hospitalization rate for
hypoparathyroidism was 5.9/100,000 inhabitants per year
and there was a significant decrease during the period of
2006â2013 (
p
\
0.0001). The mean hospitalization rate for
postsurgical hypoparathyroidism was 1.4/100,000 inhabi-
tants per year and the trend showed a significant reduction during the years (
p
\
0.0001). The mean prevalence of
hypoparathyroidism among inpatients was 5.3/100,000
inhabitants per year, and there was a significant decrease
over the years (
p
\
0.0001). Hypoparathyroidism, partic-
ularly the postsurgical form of the disease, is not an
uncommon condition among hospitalized patients in Italy.
We observed a tendency to a decrease in the frequency of
hospitalization during the period 2006â201
Performance of Glass Resistive Plate Chambers for a high granularity semi-digital calorimeter
A new design of highly granular hadronic calorimeter using Glass Resistive
Plate Chambers (GRPCs) with embedded electronics has been proposed for the
future International Linear Collider (ILC) experiments. It features a 2-bit
threshold semi-digital read-out. Several GRPC prototypes with their electronics
have been successfully built and tested in pion beams. The design of these
detectors is presented along with the test results on efficiency, pad
multiplicity, stability and reproducibility.Comment: 16 pages, 15 figure
Equivalence between free quantum particles and those in harmonic potentials and its application to instantaneous changes
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly citedIn quantum physics the free particle and the harmonically trapped particle are arguably the most important systems a physicist needs to know about. It is little known that, mathematically, they are one and the same. This knowledge helps us to understand either from the viewpoint of the other. Here we show that all general time-dependent solutions of the free-particle Schrodinger equation can be mapped to solutions of the Schrodinger equation for harmonic potentials, both the trapping oscillator and the inverted `oscillator'. This map is fully invertible and therefore induces an isomorphism between both types of system, they are equivalent. A composition of the map and its inverse allows us to map from one harmonic oscillator to another with a different spring constant and different center position. The map is independent of the state of the system, consisting only of a coordinate transformation and multiplication by a form factor, and can be chosen such that the state is identical in both systems at one point in time. This transition point in time can be chosen freely, the wave function of the particle evolving in time in one system before the transition point can therefore be linked up smoothly with the wave function for the other system and its future evolution after the transition point. Such a cut-and-paste procedure allows us to describe the instantaneous changes of the environment a particle finds itself in. Transitions from free to trapped systems, between harmonic traps of different spring constants or center positions, or, from harmonic binding to repulsive harmonic potentials are straightforwardly modelled. This includes some time dependent harmonic potentials. The mappings introduced here are computationally more efficient than either state-projection or harmonic oscillator propagator techniques conventionally employed when describing instantaneous (non-adiabatic) changes of a quantum particle's environmentPeer reviewe
Construction and commissioning of a technological prototype of a high-granularity semi-digital hadronic calorimeter
A large prototype of 1.3m3 was designed and built as a demonstrator of the
semi-digital hadronic calorimeter (SDHCAL) concept proposed for the future ILC
experiments. The prototype is a sampling hadronic calorimeter of 48 units. Each
unit is built of an active layer made of 1m2 Glass Resistive Plate
Chamber(GRPC) detector placed inside a cassette whose walls are made of
stainless steel. The cassette contains also the electronics used to read out
the GRPC detector. The lateral granularity of the active layer is provided by
the electronics pick-up pads of 1cm2 each. The cassettes are inserted into a
self-supporting mechanical structure built also of stainless steel plates
which, with the cassettes walls, play the role of the absorber. The prototype
was designed to be very compact and important efforts were made to minimize the
number of services cables to optimize the efficiency of the Particle Flow
Algorithm techniques to be used in the future ILC experiments. The different
components of the SDHCAL prototype were studied individually and strict
criteria were applied for the final selection of these components. Basic
calibration procedures were performed after the prototype assembling. The
prototype is the first of a series of new-generation detectors equipped with a
power-pulsing mode intended to reduce the power consumption of this highly
granular detector. A dedicated acquisition system was developed to deal with
the output of more than 440000 electronics channels in both trigger and
triggerless modes. After its completion in 2011, the prototype was commissioned
using cosmic rays and particles beams at CERN.Comment: 49 pages, 41 figure
Angioside: The role of Angiogenesis and Hypoxia in Lung Neuroendocrine Tumours According to Primary Tumour Location in Left or Right Parenchyma
Well-differentiated lung neuroendocrine tumours (Lu-NETs), classified as typical (TC) and atypical (AC) carcinoids, represent 30% of NETs. Angiogenesis plays an essential role in NET development and progression. A higher vascular network is a marker of differentiation, with positive prognostic implications. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively evaluated microvessel density (MVD) by CD34 immunohistochemical (IHC) staining and hypoxia by IHC staining for Hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α), comparing right- and left-lung parenchyma in 53 lung NETs. Results: The median age was 66 years (39â81), 56.6% males, 24.5% AC, 40.5% left-sided tumours and 69.8% TNM stage I. The mitotic count was <2/10 per 10 HPF in 79.2%, and the absence of necrosis in 81.1%, 39.6% with Ki67, was â€2%. The MVD, the number of vessels and the average vessel area median values were significantly higher in the right than the left parenchyma (p: 0.025, p: 0.019, p: 0.016, respectively). Hypoxia resulted present in 14/19 (73.6%) left tumours and in 10/20 (50%) right tumours in the parenchyma (p: 0.129). Conclusions: This study suggests a biological rationale for a different angiogenesis and hypoxia according to the Lu-NETsâ location. In our study, left primary tumours were less vascularized and most likely to present hypoxia than right primary tumours. This finding could have potentially useful prognostic and predictive implications for Lu-NETs
First events from the CNGS neutrino beam detected in the OPERA experiment
The OPERA neutrino detector at the underground Gran Sasso Laboratory (LNGS)
was designed to perform the first detection of neutrino oscillations in
appearance mode, through the study of nu_mu to nu_tau oscillations. The
apparatus consists of a lead/emulsion-film target complemented by electronic
detectors. It is placed in the high-energy, long-baseline CERN to LNGS beam
(CNGS) 730 km away from the neutrino source. In August 2006 a first run with
CNGS neutrinos was successfully conducted. A first sample of neutrino events
was collected, statistically consistent with the integrated beam intensity.
After a brief description of the beam and of the various sub-detectors, we
report on the achievement of this milestone, presenting the first data and some
analysis results.Comment: Submitted to the New Journal of Physic
Emulsion sheet doublets as interface trackers for the OPERA experiment
New methods for efficient and unambiguous interconnection between electronic
counters and target units based on nuclear photographic emulsion films have
been developed. The application to the OPERA experiment, that aims at detecting
oscillations between mu neutrino and tau neutrino in the CNGS neutrino beam, is
reported in this paper. In order to reduce background due to latent tracks
collected before installation in the detector, on-site large-scale treatments
of the emulsions ("refreshing") have been applied. Changeable Sheet (CSd)
packages, each made of a doublet of emulsion films, have been designed,
assembled and coupled to the OPERA target units ("ECC bricks"). A device has
been built to print X-ray spots for accurate interconnection both within the
CSd and between the CSd and the related ECC brick. Sample emulsion films have
been extensively scanned with state-of-the-art automated optical microscopes.
Efficient track-matching and powerful background rejection have been achieved
in tests with electronically tagged penetrating muons. Further improvement of
in-doublet film alignment was obtained by matching the pattern of low-energy
electron tracks. The commissioning of the overall OPERA alignment procedure is
in progress.Comment: 19 pages, 19 figure
The detection of neutrino interactions in the emulsion/lead target of the OPERA experiment
The OPERA neutrino detector in the underground Gran Sasso Laboratory (LNGS)
was designed to perform the first detection of neutrino oscillations in
appearance mode through the study of oscillations. The
apparatus consists of an emulsion/lead target complemented by electronic
detectors and it is placed in the high energy long-baseline CERN to LNGS beam
(CNGS) 730 km away from the neutrino source. Runs with CNGS neutrinos were
successfully carried out in 2007 and 2008 with the detector fully operational
with its related facilities for the emulsion handling and analysis. After a
brief description of the beam and of the experimental setup we report on the
collection, reconstruction and analysis procedures of first samples of neutrino
interaction events
Hemicraniectomy after middle cerebral artery infarction with life-threatening Edema trial (HAMLET). Protocol for a randomised controlled trial of decompressive surgery in space-occupying hemispheric infarction
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Patients with a hemispheric infarct and massive space-occupying brain oedema have a poor prognosis. Despite maximal conservative treatment, the case fatality rate may be as high as 80%, and most survivors are left severely disabled. Non-randomised studies suggest that decompressive surgery reduces mortality substantially and improves functional outcome of survivors. This study is designed to compare the efficacy of decompressive surgery to improve functional outcome with that of conservative treatment in patients with space-occupying supratentorial infarction</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The study design is that of a multi-centre, randomised clinical trial, which will include 112 patients aged between 18 and 60 years with a large hemispheric infarct with space-occupying oedema that leads to a decrease in consciousness. Patients will be randomised to receive either decompressive surgery in combination with medical treatment or best medical treatment alone. Randomisation will be stratified for the intended mode of conservative treatment (intensive care or stroke unit care). The primary outcome measure will be functional outcome, as determined by the score on the modified Rankin Scale, at one year.</p
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